Grammatics - 'Grammatics' (Dance To The Radio) Released 23/03/09

With his choir boy looks and vocals, Owen Brinely has risen out of the ashes of the appallingly named Colour of Fire and formed Grammatics - several line-up changes have resulted in Emilia Ergin (cello), Dominic Ord (drums) and Rory O’Hara (bass) completing the line up. After extensive touring, a Japanese EP and a few singles the group have signed to Dance to the Radio label and, now, unleash their eponymous debut album.

This self-proclaimed “art-rock opus” was certainly not as expected - take a collective sigh of relief and put aside any thoughts of white noise and unrecognisable structures and rhythms. Grammatics instead serve up an epic, melodic, prog-tinged affair. For fans of Brinleys’ previous group there certainly is an emo feel to this new album, rife with harmonious loud/quiet progressive structures. However, Erigins presence on strings has proved beneficial bringing about a greater depth and a scattering of classical and folk inspired moments.

Brinleys’ melodies are consistently strong, often emphasised by guitar or string parts mimicking his lead. He certainly is extremely tuneful, perhaps too tuneful... There are one or two occasions on the album where it sounds as if a vox tuner might be at work. Make your own mind up, example ‘Polar Swellings’ - 3m22s. Sporadically Brinley does deviate from the softly sung falsettos, letting rip on tracks such as ‘Relentless Fours’ and ‘Rosa Flood’ but not entirely convincingly.

Lyrically it’s a bit hit-and-miss – this is after all a group who titled the last track on the album ‘Swan Song’. ‘Inkjet Lakes’, features lines such as “I’m in a prism of refractions, burning gamma rays” sounding as if the content was lifted straight from a GCSE science textbook. It seems like Brinley may also be spending a little too much time with his head in a thesaurus, evident in the occasional ill-fitting and/or illogical lines. At best the lyrics are appropriately angst-ridden, at worst, down right wince-inducing – worst offenders being ‘Murderer’s relentless “He’s a murder, he’s a murderer” and self-indulgent cliché-fest ‘Broken Wing’. But hey, this is epic pompous music and it makes sense that the lyrical content follow suit.

The musicianship is impressive throughout - Ords’ drumming of particular note, his beats constantly innovative and intricate. The production (credited to Grammatics and James Kenosha) is sleek, polished and reflects the songs perfectly in its grandiose feel. As noted on the CD, minimal compression is used, emphasising the huge dynamic shifts within pieces. Right through the album subtle underlying organs, electronic elements and harmonic loops are present, often only noticeable in calmer sections and effectively filling out the sound.

Grammatics nestle themselves comfortably in-between Muse, Bloc Party and My Chemical Romance and certainly have it in them to knock out solid singles such as the double A-side Dilemma/Polar Swellings - if the album is successful, expect a re-release. With the right promotion this album could sell by the truck load, even if it does occasionally feel a little artificial.